UMW hosts Douglass "On the Rocks"

UMW News Bureau

Rick Douglass, of Montana Tech, visited UMW to give a presentation about Hantavirus in Montana.

The latest installment of the geology visiting speaker series "On the Rocks" featured Montana Tech professor Rick Douglass. Working on behalf of a grant from Centers of Disease Control, Douglass has been studying Hantavirus and deer mice in Montana for twelve years. Douglass explained to the group of students, faculty, administration and Dillon community members at "On the Rocks" how he studies the Hantavirus by tracking and testing deer mice both indoors and outdoors. The presentation's message was not how to avoid contracting Hantavirus, but that Hantavirus outbreaks are hard to predict and that more research is needed. Douglass's talk highlighted the fact that twelve years of research is a very sort time when studying animal behavior.